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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 154: A Private Conversation
"Rodolphus? You mean that huge brute?" Peter asked.
"Shh! Lower your voice," John Bell, Charlie's younger brother, made an exaggerated gesture to Peter.
By this point, they had caught the attention of everyone at the table.
"We can't speak of this now…" Charlie said.
"Can you at least tell us how—" Remus realized that many seniors at the Slytherin table were now glaring at them. "Never mind…" He had the feeling that if they continued this conversation, many of those boys were going to attack them.
James was resting his head on top of his hands and barely paying attention to what his friends were talking about, as it was of little interest to him.
Of course, he knew exactly how Rodolphus had died. The capsule of basilisk venom that James had left inside his body could have been activated from anywhere in the world, and he had done just that before it was time to return to school.
Rodolphus Lestrange was an extremely violent and dangerous individual, even for his young age. There was no telling what he would try on the Black sisters now that his engagement was broken.
It was also just a matter of time before the news about the agreement between his family and Bella's.
Not that he had any intention of telling anyone, but these things always find their way out somehow.
And once that information became public, Rodolphus would have become enraged and uncontrollable.
'One less problem.' James didn't feel too bad. He had met the man as an adult, and he was an unredeemable piece of shit. His brother was not much better either.
He lifted his head for a moment and gave the Slytherin table a passing glance.
As the others had said, the mood over there was not a good one. And James was sure there was more to it than just the death of Lestrange.
The complete destruction of the Rosier House may have also had something to do with it.
Even if no students from that house were currently studying at Hogwarts, news like that was not something members of ancient pure-blood houses were used to hearing.
Many of them must have grown up with the idea that they were untouchable, just because their families had been around for many generations. This also made them feel like they were above everyone who didn't come from a distinguished and old magical house.
That was now changing, and they didn't know how to deal with it.
He found Bella sitting on the other side of the table. She seemed to be having an animated conversation with her older sister.
The two of them had grown much closer over the year.
Meanwhile, their other sister, Narcissa, appeared to be quite isolated.
The girl had dedicated everything she had to catch the attention of Lucius Malfoy, and now that she had lost that, she was having a hard time figuring out what to do with her life.
On the other side were Malfoy, the remaining Lestrange brother, Snape, and all of their minions.
James caught Lucius throwing a few glares his way but immediately looked away when he realized that James was watching him.
Rabastan Lestrange, however, did not look away. He was glaring at James with a defiant demeanor, as if it was a challenge.
'Foolish boy…' James yawned again and returned to his resting position.
'Hopefully, tonight I can get some proper rest,' he thought as he closed his eyes.
The calm did not last long. Just a couple of minutes later, the professors, as well as the Headmaster himself had entered the hall and pronounced a short speech, mourning the death of Rodolphus Lestrange and wishing everyone luck with their final exams.
Dinner carried out in a very solemn manner.
James could not remember a single time that Hogwarts was this quiet during an opening dinner. But that suited him just fine.
He finished his meal and was about to stand up to leave the hall when he felt the stare of Sirius.
James gave his friend a gesture, and this one stood up from his chair.
"Where are you going? There's still dessert," Peter told them.
"I'm not really that hungry today. Just tired," James said.
"Me too," Sirius added. "I'll see you later at the common room."
"Sure…" Remus responded, right before exchanging a look with Peter.
"Well then, if you excuse us." James stood up and began to walk out of the room, with Sirius following closely behind.
The hallways were still empty, since most students were still enjoying their food at the hall.
James walked with purpose, and Sirius kept at his side.
"James," he suddenly spoke.
"Not here. Wait for a minute," he cut him off while continuing his walk up to the third floor.
Once there, he located one of the abandoned classrooms he was looking for, opened the door, and indicated for Sirius to enter.
Then he used his wand to place a locking charm, as well as some privacy ones.
"Okay, what is it that you have heard?"
"I heard that you are going to marry my cousin Bella. Have you lost your mind?" Sirius snapped.
At this point, James wasn't sure if Sirius was upset because he was trying to be protective of his family, or because he disliked his cousins so much that he would rather his friends have nothing to do with them.
"Is that all your brother told you?"
"How do you know it was Regulus?"
"Who else?" James raised an eyebrow. "You barely speak with your parents. And I know that the three sisters would be better at keeping a secret."
"Alright… yes, he only told me that our uncle and grandfather went to your house to make the contract and have it signed," Sirius said.
"Okay then...it is true. Officially, at least, Bella and I are engaged. Although I imagine that Regulus was able to take a guess as to why this arrangement had to be made in such a short period of time," James responded.
"What are you talking about?" Now Sirius looked confused.
"I will explain it, but please pay attention because I'm tired and want to get some rest…" James sat down on one of the tables and began to speak again.
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